Entries with the tag: team canada

I know this has been talked about a lot in the last day or so but I wanted to point you folks to a great article by good friend of the blog James Murphy at NESN.com. The article talks about how Team USA’s win over Team Canada should be looked at as an upset rather than a miracle:

The USA’s 5-3 men’s hockey win over Canada on Sunday night was surely a giant upset. But it was no “miracle,” and it was not even close to what took place in Lake Placid, N.Y., 30 years ago today.

Yes, the Canadians—like the old Red Army team—were heavy favorites heading into this tournament. And yes, goalie Ryan Miller stood on his head with 42 saves just like Jim Craig did 30 years ago. Oh, and as Boston University alum Mike Eruzione scored the winning goal in Lake Placid 30 years ago, there was another clutch forward from BU, Chris Drury, who scored the go-ahead goal in the second period on Sunday. But really, the similarities end there.

Sunday’s victory over Canada was thrilling and, yes, it was very unexpected given the pre-Olympic hype and predictions. But this U.S. win was a statement game, not a miracle.

Team Canada GM Steve Yzerman probably had the hardest and easiest job of any of the competing Olympic country general managers. He could have fielded three contending teams with the surplus of talent to pick from in the Great White North.

Yzerman’s job was like that of a fantasy hockey manager, but it is the pressure of being the GM of the host nation that made his job difficult and ever so delicate for Yzerman. While there may be so many skilled players at his disposal, Yzerman needed to make sure they were the right players based on experience and chemistry. Well, one look at the roster Stevie Y. assembled and at least on paper, he appears to have found the right mix.

Obviously having Sidney Crosby, Ryan Getzlaf, Joe Thornton and Eric Staal up the middle will provide amazing play-making skills, and wingers such as Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau, Rick Nash and Jarome Iginla can seemingly light the lamp at will. But it’s the group of two-way players (Crosby included) that are both skilled and full of grit and hustle that makes this forward corps the most complete of any. Players like Mike Richards, Corey Perry, Jonathan Toews, Brendan Morrow and Patrice Bergeron will provide defensive responsibility up front and loads of grit and toughness.

They will have a defense led by the likes of Scott Niedermayer, Dan Boyle and Chris Pronger. Young studs Drew Doughty and Shea Weber, possibly a top pairing on most NHL teams, could serve as the alternate sixth and seventh slots off the bench.

Oh, and by the way, the winningest NHL goalie ever, Martin Brodeur, will be backed up by Roberto Luongo and Marc-Andre Fleury.

As this point, your heart just goes out to Steven Stamkos(notes). The No. 1 overall pick in 2008 for the Tampa Bay Lightning, the kid battled through absurd expectations placed on him through offseason marketing—and his own struggles—in a season that saw him earn just three third-place sympathy votes for the Calder.

But he played better as the year wore on, and played very well for Team Canada in the 2009 world championships. Olympic hockey analyst Pierre McGuire thought his international experience might be enough to earn Stamkos a roster spot for Team Canada in the 2010 Winter Games.

Click here for more. I for one am shocked that New York Rangers’ defenseman Wade Redden was not asked (just kidding obviously)!

Steve Yzerman has been around this game long enough to know what good goaltending is. He’s seen it up close and personal with the likes of Mike Vernon, Chris Osgood, Dominik Hasek and Curtis Joseph.

Now that Stevie Y is the GM of Team Canada heading into the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, he has to select three goaltenders that will help lead the team to a Gold Medal.

Who do you think will be on the long list of netminders that Yzerman will choose from? Which netminders do you think will be selected? Here is a brief sample list of netminders I can think of that could be worthy of a selection onto Canada’s Olympic team: